Terms & Conditions

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE USE OF THIS WEB SITE IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE SET OUT BELOW. BY USING THIS SITE THE USER AGREES AND IS DEEMED TO HAVE AGREED TO OBSERVE ALL TERMS & CONDITIONS OF USE, INCLUDING ANY PRIVACY OR OTHER POLICIES WHICH MAY APPEAR ELSEWHERE ON THIS WEB SITE.

"web site owner" and/or "we" means Independent Online (Pty) Ltd ("IOL")
"user" means any person accessing any part of the web site
"consumer" means any natural person (not a company, CC, trust etc) who enters or intends entering into an electronic transaction with this site as the end-user of the goods or services offered by this site
"this web site" means http://www.themercury.co.za and all sub pages thereof excluding links to external sites
"ECT Act" means the Electronic Communications & Transactions Act 25 of 2002

The IOL information service ("the information service") is comprised of information and content, which includes but is not limited to advertising services, general news, e-commerce, interactive chat rooms, trading sites, news groups and forums (moderated and unmoderated) provided by IOL and third parties with whom IOL has contracted.

IOL may, in its sole discretion, amend these terms and conditions from time to time at which time the new terms and conditions will immediately come into effect in respect of further usage.

Use of this web site is strictly at the sole risk of the user.

Unless otherwise indicated, users are welcome to copy, download or print out any of the visible text or images on this web site for personal use. (see clause 42 for definition of personal use).

Users wishing to utilise content for commercial purposes may only do so with the prior written permission of the web site owner. Requests for commercial use may be submitted by clicking here. The granting or refusing of permission is completely within the discretion of the web site owner, and may be conditional.

THIS ENTIRE WEB SITE, INCLUDING TEXT, IMAGES, LINKS, DOWNLOADS AND CODING, IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE". THE WEB SITE OWNER MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES AS TO THE CORRECTNESS OR SUITABILITY OF EITHER THE WEB SITE OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT.

Subject to Chapter 7 of the ECT Act, the web site owner, its officers, employees, suppliers, ISPs, partners, affiliates and agents, shall not be liable for any damage, loss or liability, howsoever arising, incurred by users or any other persons and resulting from the use or inability to use this web site.

Subject to Chapter 7 of the ECT Act and to the fullest extent possible under the applicable law, the web site owner disclaims all responsibility or liability for any damages, including but not limited to direct, economic, consequential loss or loss of profits, resulting from the use of this site in any manner.

The web site owner has no control over third party content and features which can be accessed through the use of this web site and does not examine or edit such content and features or act as an agent for third parties accessible through this web site. As such and to the fullest possible extent permissible under law the web site owner disclaims any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage arising from the use of third party web sites, contents and features.

USERS AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE WEB SITE OWNER, ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, ISPs, SERVANTS, SUBCONTRACTORS, PARTNERS, SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES FROM ANY DEMAND, ACTION OR APPLICATION OR OTHER PROCEEDINGS, INCLUDING FOR ATTORNEYS FEES AND RELATED COSTS SUCH AS TRACING FEES, MADE BY ANY THIRD PARTY AND ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USERS USE OF THIS WEB SITE, THIRD PARTY WEB SITES OR ANY OF THE SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH SUCH SITES IN ANY WAY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE PROVISION OF CONTENT.

Under section 42(1)(h) of the ECT Act the cooling-off period set out in section 44 of the Act does not apply to an electronic transaction for the sale of newspapers, periodicals, magazines and books.

Under sections 43(1) and (2) of the ECT Act the web site owner is required to disclose the information and procedures set out in these sections in respect of electronic transactions. In the event that a consumer proves that the web site owner has not set out the information and procedures as required then the consumer has the right to cancel the transaction within 14 days of receiving the relevant goods or services under the transaction.
Under section 42(1)(d) of the ECT Act the cooling-off period set out in section 44 of the Act does not apply to an electronic transaction for services which began with the consumer's consent before the end of a period of seven days from receipt of the service.

Where a transaction has been so cancelled then

The consumer must return the performance of the supplier and/or immediately cease using the services performed; and

The supplier must refund all payments made by the consumer less the direct cost of returning the goods, if any.

Under section 42(1)(g) of the ECT Act the cooling-off period set out in section 44 of the Act does not apply where audio or video recordings or computer software were unsealed by the consumer.

Under section 43(5) of the ECT Act the supplier must utilise a payment system that is sufficiently secure with reference to accepted technological standards at the time of the transaction and the type of transaction concerned.

This web site does not store any user credit card information;

Transactions are processed through the Meglakor payment gateway using industry standard SSL. Meglakor uses 128-bit digital certificates to activate Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) to ensure that all credit card details are sent encrypted to our merchant server. SSL encrypts information and makes it impossible for anyone to read while in transit.

Under section 42(1)(i) of the ECT Act the cooling-off period set out in section 44 of the Act does not apply to an electronic transaction for the provision of gaming or lottery services.

Under section 43(6) of the ECT Act the supplier will be liable for any damage suffered by a consumer as a result of the failure to comply with section 43(5).

Users may obtain the details of any subscriber or classified advertising transaction entered into by the relevant user through this site by clicking here and specifying full details of the transaction in question.

IOL is registered for VAT and prices reflected on this web site are inclusive of VAT.

Additional terms and conditions in respect of classified advertising are specified on the section of the web site at which online transactions for classified advertising are entered into. While the text of classifieds may be submitted online, the transaction will only be finalised once all the details have been telephonically or otherwise confirmed with a sales representative.

The web site owner offers a service whereby headlines featured on the web site may be displayed on a web site using RSS Feeds under an implied license. This service is available at no cost for non-commercial use.

Licences for commercial use of this service will be negotiated by the web site owner on application. For further information please contact us.

The web site owner reserves the right in its sole discretion and for whatever reason to require users of the syndication service to immediately cease using it upon receipt of notification in this regard.

Data messages, including e-mail messages, sent by users to the web site owner shall be deemed to be received only when acknowledged or responded to.

A data messages sent by the web site owner to users shall be regarded as received when the complete data message enters an information system designated or used for that purpose by the recipient and is capable of being retrieved and processed by the recipient.

The web site owner reserves the right not to respond to any e-mail or other data message which contains obscene, threatening, defamatory or otherwise illegal, unlawful or inappropriate content, and to take the appropriate action against the sender of such e-mail where necessary.

In order to provide a relevant and secure service, and where required to do so under law, the web site owner may monitor and/or intercept electronic communications such as e-mail which are sent to this web site. To the full extent necessary under law the user hereby acknowledges that he or she is aware of such potential monitoring and/or interception and consents thereto.

Use of forum and chat room

Users and members irrevocably agree that all Content provided by them, whether posted on their site or elsewhere or where privately transmitted, is and remains the sole responsibility of the member from which such Content originated.

The web site owner does not control any Content posted through the services which it provides, although it retains the right (but not obligation), in its sole and absolute discretion, to remove any material which is the subject of a complaint.

Users and members agree that they will not utilise this web site or any service provided on it to

upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that is unlawful or illegal;

upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that constitutes harassment or hate speech, or which is invasive of the privacy of another;

harm or unfairly target minors;

stalk or harass other users;

impersonate any person connected to this web site or any service provided on it or otherwise misrepresent their association with any such person;

take any measures to disguise the origin of any Content;

take any measures to restrict access to any part of the web site, including the use of passwords and hidden pages;

upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that infringes the intellectual property rights of a third party or which the member is restricted from uploading, posting or otherwise transmitting by operation of law, contract or duty of care;

use this web site or any service provided on it to engage in any unsolicited, unlawful or unauthorised marketing, advertising or promotional activities, including but not limited to the harvesting of addresses and the sending of spam and chain letters;

upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that contains any malicious code which is designed to or will have the effect of disrupting in any way and to any degree the operation of this web site or any service provided on it, and of any software, hardware or telecommunications equipment on which it relies for its operation;

collect and / or store data on any other user or users;

engage in any commercial activity without the prior written consent of the web site user, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld; or

Any content received by e-mail or other data message will be assumed to have been submitted for publication free of charge, unless the sender clearly stipulates that payment for the content is required and includes all relevant contact and pricing information in the e-mail or other data message.

The publication of content, either on-line or off-line, is within the sole and exclusive discretion of the web site owner.

While we take all reasonable security precautions and subject to , no liability will lie for damage caused by the malicious use of this site or by destructive data or code that is passed on to the user through the use of this site.

The following acts in connection with this web site are expressly prohibited:

Gaining or attempting to gain unauthorised access to any web page or part of this web site;

Delivering or attempting to deliver any unauthorised or malicious code or content to this web site; and/or

Any amendment to or attempt to amend any of the content or any other part of this web site by unauthorised persons.

We will pursue prosecution of and compensation from any person that delivers or attempts to deliver any destructive code to this web site or attempts to gain unauthorized access to any page on or part of this web site.

Copyright in all information, images, source codes and other original material contained in this web site which is not attributed to a third party, is held by or licensed to the web site owner. THE WEB SITE OWNER ASSERTS AND RESERVES ALL ITS RIGHTS, INCLUDING MORAL RIGHTS, IN THIS REGARD.

The web site owner grants to users a personal, non-exclusive, non-assignable and non-transferable license to use, print and display all content and information on any machine of which the user is the primary user for non-commercial purposes only.

If you believe that this site in any way infringes a third party copyright or other intellectual property right please contact us specifying the full details of the alleged infringement.

Further information regarding the manner in which we respect the privacy of users' personal information is contained in our Privacy Policy.

The web site owner may monitor and intercept communications made through his web site in order to promote the secure and efficient operation of the web site. Users irrevocably agree that they consent to such interception and monitoring as may be reasonably carried out by the web site owner.

This web site may contain advertising and sponsorship. Advertisers and sponsors are responsible for ensuring that material submitted for inclusion in this web site complies with all applicable laws and regulations.

The web site owner accordingly excludes, to the fullest possible extent permissible under law, any responsibility or liability for any error or inaccuracy appearing in advertising or sponsorship material.

Automated transactions and searches are subject to these terms and conditions.

The use of malicious search technology is prohibited.

The use of search technology in an unlawful manner or for the collecting or harvesting of data for commercial gain is prohibited.

Search technology which does not unduly retard the operation of this web site is acceptable but the web site owner reserves the right to prohibit any specific entity from employing search technology on the web site.

Permission to link to this web site is given without assumption of any liability. We reserve the right to withdraw permission granted to link to this web site at any time and for any reason.

Hyperlinks and/or advertisements contained on this web site and directed towards other web sites or users are provided without any warranties or endorsements as to the content, suitability, accuracy or security of the site linked to. This web site in no manner controls or edits the content of sites or pages linked to, and disclaims all liability, direct or indirect, which may arise from the use or inability to use a link or a linked-to web site.

Use of the sites or pages linked to is accordingly exclusively at the risk of the user.

The express permission in writing of the web site owner, which may be subject to conditions, is required before this site, any of its pages and/or any of the information contained on the site is framed. Requests for permission can be submitted through our contact page.

This web site may, from time to time, run competitions and other promotions. These will be subject to additional terms and conditions which will be made available to users and/or entrants at the applicable time.

The web site owner reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion and without prior notification, to terminate the provision of this web site and/or to terminate the access rights of any user where, for example and without limitation:

The web site owner regards the action or inaction of a user to constitute a breach of these terms and conditions;

The web site owner regards the action or inaction of a user to constitute abuse of the services offered through this web site.

Events beyond the reasonable control of the web site owner, including technical failures, prevent the continuing provision of the web site.

The user hereby agrees that the law applicable to these terms and conditions of use, their interpretation and any matter or litigation in connection therewith or arising from them will be the law of South Africa.

This web site is owned, hosted and maintained within the Republic of South Africa.

When using this site and agreeing to these Terms and Conditions such use and agreement is deemed to have taken place in Cape Town, South Africa.

Users of this web site are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the South African law relating to electronic communications and transactions as contained in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.

The user consents to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate's Court having jurisdiction in terms of section 28 of the Magistrate's Court Act as amended in respect of any dispute flowing from the use of this web site.

OR DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, shall be settled by the online dispute resolution process in accordance with the TrustEnforce.org Mediation and Arbitration rules, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this clause.

Where the dispute has arisen in South Africa between parties in South Africa the place of the arbitration is deemed to be Cape Town, so the arbitration will be governed by these rules and by the arbitration law of South Africa and the dispute will be resolved in accordance with the law of South Africa.

Where the dispute has arisen between parties in different countries the arbitration is deemed to be an international arbitration, and the place of the arbitration is deemed to be Auckland, New Zealand, so the arbitration will be governed by the TrustEnforce.org mediation and arbitration rules and by the arbitration law of New Zealand, which has adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. In the case of an international arbitration the dispute will be resolved in accordance with the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1980)(if concerned with the sale of goods)and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (1994), supplemented where necessary by the CENTRAL List of Lex Mercatoria principles, rules and standards.

The language used during the dispute resolution process will be English.

Users may not cede, sub-license or otherwise transfer any rights they may have under these terms and conditions or which may otherwise have been obtained through the use of this site.

In the event of any part of these Terms and Conditions being found to be partially or fully unenforceable, for whatever reason, this shall not effect the application or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement.

These Terms of Use contain the record of the entire agreement between the user and the web site owner.

Failure to enforce any provision of these Terms and Conditions shall not be deemed a waiver of such provision nor of the right to enforce such provision.